Inaugural Indian Wrestling GP attracts world-class field

New Delhi: Grapplers from more than 20 nations will participate in the inaugural edition of the Hari Ram Indian Wrestling Grand Prix scheduled to commence at city's Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from May 25.

The tournament will witness 300 wrestlers and officials from 22 countries, including the likes of Georgia's Sakandelidze Giorgi (120kg) and Tajikistan's Yusup Abdusalamov (84kg), who won the Olympic Qualification Tournament gold this year.

The women's field will be graced by Mongolia's Burmaa Ochirbat (72kg) besides Nigerian Ifeoma Iheanacho (67kg).

The names of the Indian grapplers have not been declared yet but the organisers said the four Olympic-bound wrestlers will be a part of the tournament.

The competition has been divided into male and female division with grapplers getting a chance to showcase their skills in seven weight categories.

The three-day tournament, which boasts of a galaxy of Olympics, Asian and European Games medal winners, will be an ideal ground for the Olympic-bound Indian wrestlers to hone their skills ahead of the marquee event.

With three teams from India getting a chance to compete in the event, a total of 42 wrestlers from the country will be in fray for medals.

"Tournaments like this should be held on regular basis. They give an opportunity to our wrestlers to compete against the best and provides them the necessary exposure. The tournament is even more significant keeping in view that it is an Olympic year," the secretary general of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Raj Singh, said.

Singh added that the tournament will act as a test event for the forthcoming Asian Championship to be held in the country in April next year.

"It will give us an idea of our preparedness for the big tournaments. We have got the Asian Championship in April next year, so this event will act as a test tournament," he said.

The tournament involves a total prize purse of USD 98,000 with the gold medalist getting USD 3,000.

The silver medalist will bag USD 2,000, while the winner of bronze medal will fetch USD 1,000, the secretary general informed.